Brazil’s Supreme Court suspends lower-court challenges to Lula’s betting ban
Regulation2 min read
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court justice Luiz Fux has halted lower-court proceedings challenging President Lula’s provisional measure banning online betting while the court considers its constitutionality. The interim decision followed a request from Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet and aims to prevent conflicting rulings; Congress is separately reviewing the measure.
Proceedings around President Lula da Silva’s federal online betting ban have been suspended by Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) pending a ruling on the measure’s constitutionality. Justice Luiz Fux granted an appeal by Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet, who wants to end rulings permitting certain firms to keep offering online betting.
Fux said conflicting rulings risked legal uncertainty by allowing some operators to resume business while others remained prohibited. CDA Gaming had received lower-court permission to continue operating Casa de Apostas, BetSul and Jogo Online. Stake was briefly allowed to operate until 25 October, the day of the presidential election run-offs, but that permission was quickly quashed.
Lula announced Provisional Measure 1,394/2026 on 25 September. After the announcement, Brazil’s Congress initiated a 120-day review of the measure, and betting firms received a short timeframe to close. Lula signed the Bets Law in late 2024.
Trade bodies appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that Lula’s measure unfairly suspended a regulated market. A three-day hearing last week presented views from government, business and society to Fux. Industry bodies and their allies in commerce and politics argued that the intervention infringed the constitution and violated legal certainty, free competition and due process.
Stakeholders on both sides must now await the STF’s final decision on the ban’s constitutionality or a rejection or amendment by Congress, rather than pursuing their goals through lower courts.